First statement from Kaboğlu, elected president of the Istanbul Bar Association

The Ordinary General Assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association, Turkey's largest bar association, concluded yesterday. In the election held on the final day of the two-day assembly at the Haliç Congress Center, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kaboğlu, the candidate of the Lawyers for Change Group, was elected as the new president of the Istanbul Bar Association.

ELECTED PRESIDENT ACCORDING TO UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

According to unofficial results, Kaboğlu took the presidential seat by receiving 7,197 votes, while the candidate of the Rise of Lawyers Group, Attorney Hasan Kılıç, came in second with 5,537 votes, and the candidate of the Lawyers' Rights Group, Attorney Turgay Bilge, came in third with 4,993 votes.

The candidate of the First Principle Contemporary Lawyers Group, Attorney Filiz Saraç, received 4,067 votes, and Attorney Ali Gürbüz received 3,987 votes. The voter turnout for the election was determined to be 46 percent.

WE WILL NOT BE EXCLUSIONARY

Making a press statement after the election, the new president Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kaboğlu said the following:

“We will embrace all institutions,” he said. Kaboğlu continued, “The results show that the Istanbul Bar Association has won. We will never be exclusionary. We set out to make the law effective, we set out for a democratic state of law, for a secular and democratic state of law based on human rights. And you voted for our promises with your votes. Starting from this evening, starting from tomorrow morning, we will implement the promises we made to our society one by one. In this context, let no one forget that the Istanbul Bar Association is not a company. The Istanbul Bar Association is a massive organization whose members are lawyers who perform public service, prioritize the law, and defend the rule of law.”

News Source: 12punto